With the volume of applicants for marketing jobs outnumbering vacancies, marketers are now told that they must undergo further education to beat the competition, according to a survey by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

The Croner Rewards survey shows that those with extra qualifications not only often land the best jobs, but are also awarded higher salaries than those with basic qualifications. Highly qualified marketing directors can expect to earn up to £10,000 more a year than those without extra qualifications, which has unsurprisingly lead to a massive surge in applicants for directorial roles says the report. Further down the scale, marketing officers who have studied towards a higher national certificate or diploma can expect to earn around £3700 more than those who are only part qualified.

Recent figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency meanwhile reveal that since 2000, the number of postgraduate applicants for jobs in marketing has increased by over 50 per cent.

Director of education at the CIM, Keith Fletcher, said, "By looking for applicants with up to date and relevant qualifications, they are able to differentiate between the good marketing candidate and the professionally outstanding marketer."

Industry bodies are taking an increased interest in making training courses for marketers more accessible. Last month the CIM launched a series of short courses geared around its ‘marketing masterclass programme', which are designed to teach how to improve ROI, add value and increase profitability. Last year saw the creation of Europe's first B2B-specific marketing qualification courses, offered by the Institute of Direct Marketing.

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